Forestry brigades from La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro are travelling to Tenerife to help contain the perimeter of the fire which, according to the Canarian Regional Minister for Territorial Policy, Manuel Miranda, is “nowhere near being controlled” but the perimeter is mostly “stabilised”.
Firefighters worked through the night tackling the fire, which now affects an area of 14,751 hectares with a perimeter of 90 kilometres and had another "relatively calm" night thanks to the weather.
With the arrival of reinforcements, they will be able to monitor this consolidation more closely and aim "to proceed once and for all with the liquidation of the blaze itself", said Manuel Miranda.
The head of the Tenerife Forest Service, Pedro Martínez, explained that the perimeter is very long and will generate hot spots inside during the day and in the next few days due to the high temperatures on the island, but for now, the news is good and for the first time he has seen the teams working on the most active front, the one in the upper parts of Güímar, making good progression.
Twenty planes and helicopters are continuing to make runs today after completing 673 passes yesterday discharging 1,572,000 litres of water onto the fire. With temperatures up to 35°C in Güímar, this is the area they are focussing on as the heat is their main enemy.
The director of Emergencies for the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Federico Grillo, has refuted the claims of "widespread belief” that the fire has devastated everything on the mountain, and said that, in the case of Tenerife, "we have not lost it all, there will be areas that will recover in a matter of months”.
He has also explained that there will be smoke visible in the forests for several months even after the fire has been put out, as they remain “lethargic” and “sleep” until completely dormant.
